Stuck on a Bus

Well almost stuck on a bus.

We went on our weekly date this morning and decided to take a bus to a local coffee shop. We bundled up ourselves and Corbin (now we know we've been married for a while when a date with only one kid is a real treat) and headed out on a bus.

The roads were slick with a fresh coat of ice. It looked like it has sleeted last night and it made the going slow. Our bus driver tried to take a short cut around traffic at a light on a one lane side road when we found ourselves in a little situation.

The bus in front of us was stuck on the ice and couldn't move. Now our bus was stuck behind the first one. What do we do? Do we wait for the first bus to get un-stuck? Or do we jump off the bus and find a taxi?

We choose the later but quickly realized a taxi was hard to find. We waited and waited always looking back at the stuck buses to see if we made the right decision. We waited some more, and then the buses started to move. We raced up the street, still carrying Corbin in an infant seat, to the next bus stop.

We laughed when we thought of boarding the same bus we just jumped off trying to take our own short cut. We boarded a different bus and made the rest of the journey to the coffee shop without incident.

This made me think. How many times do I do this with the Father? I try to take control of a situation and rush ahead on my own short cut. I am reminded to completely trust the Father has the best plan and path for my life.

One Way to Get a Free Shower

It all started with a text message, “For you the hallway bell doth toll.” Our apartment has prepaid electricity and when our meter is running low, we head downstairs, talk to the guards, get our new electricity card, and recharge our meter. (We usually do this 1-2 times per semester.)

So downstairs I go to retrieve the electricity card. First attempt was unsuccessful (but maybe I should reserve that definition for the second attempt as we’ll see later). The guard informed me that he needed some collateral to ensure I’d bring the electricity card back. I offered him my keys, but he refused. He wanted something more valuable.

Back upstairs, actually up the elevator, to get the more valuable possession, my university ID card. Now I don’t consider this card to hold too much value, but if it’ll get my electricity refilled by handing it over, then so be it. And back downstairs to get the electricity card.

With it all squared away, I traded the university ID card for the electricity refill card and turned to leave.

SWOOOOOOSH!

Out shot a stream of hot water from the radiator! The cargo pockets on my pants caught the end of the radiator and broke off the release valve! I immediately tried to plug the hole with my thumb but the pressure was too high. I managed to hold the radiator closed from some time as the guard dialed numbers on his emergency phone list. The guard was getting no response. He tried number after number trying to get someone to come help out.

I keep the pressure on the valve with my thumb braving the hot water and spraying water as the pressure built up. It got harder and harder to hold my thumb in place. Sometimes I adjusted my thumb shooting the water out again. The guard franticly waved at me to cover the hole again. I pressed on, literally pressing my thumb for what seemed like forever. Then, the guard came out of his office to check out the damages and informed me that the “plumber” would call him back in a minute.

A MINUTE! CAN I PLEASE GET A PENCIL TO JAM IN THE HOLE AND STOP THE WATER?!?

As I was spraying myself and the walls with the water adjusting my thumb and trying other techniques to stop the water, other guests would come and go. Each one would gasp at the sight of the first floor covered with water, black water, and what plaster from where the water had shot off the wall! And it stunk. The water had an old nasty smell to it. But I kept holding it off with my thumb hoping someone would understand my broken Chinese asking for a pencil.

Finally another guard came in the building. I guess it was his shift change. He understood my Chinese and tossed a pencil from his office to me that I used to plug the hole. I continued to hold the pencil for 10-15 minutes longer waiting for the plumber.

The plumber finally arrived carrying only pliers. He examined the situation. I handed him the broken valve which he examined and tossed back to me. I continued to hold the pencil effectively stopping the flow of water from the radiator. The plumber looked for a valve that would turn off the water to the radiator, but there was none. (As a note, the radiators in our apartment had a red valve to turn off the water if I break one in our apartment.)

After he looked for the shutoff valve, he returned to the office with the guard. The both looked over the phone list again and decided to take a smoke break. A SMOKING BREAK! I’m still holding the pencil in the radiator and your smoking!

After the cigarettes were done, the plumber comes back out of the office and asks me to release my hold on the pencil to see if the pencil will stay on its own. I do gingerly and the pencil does its job!

Now came the fun part, cleaning up the water that’s everywhere. The guard gets a broom, dust pan, and bucket and started to sweep up the water one bucket at a time. I offer my help and asked for another broom but there are no more.

Another man worker came in the building and immediately asked what happened. The guard simply said, “TA!” (Meaning HIM!) as he pointed my direction. Next to come down the elevators were the cleaning ladies carrying the trash out. They ask the same question to which the guard responded, “TA!”

Not knowing what to do, I stand around as the guard does some cleaning. Then finally the guard says some more Chinese “Mei shi” meaning it doesn’t matter and informed me that I could go. So I left to take a shower and clean up my own mess!

TO BE CONTINUED…

I returned the electricity card an hour later and the guard smiled and waved at me again saying “mei shi.” Today when I went down to replace our bottled water, another guard was on duty. He had heard the story and smiled at me asking if I broke the valve yesterday. As for the damages…

Thursday Morning Image

As we near the end of Spring Festival, many families return to their jobs, schools, and routine lives. Please remember the families of China as they say goodbyes until the next Spring Festival.

"Outside" Play Time

"Outside" means something different when you live in Harbin. Outside to Kanyon means going to the hall to drive his "taxi". Kanyon got the taxi (really a Plasma Car) for his birthday and it was so much fun that the other family purchased another one for their kids. So now there's two! It's awesome to have something for him to do outside without being all bundled up.

Now to teach him to share and not play bumper cars!

Lao Hu 老虎

Spring Festival marks the beginning of the Year of the Tiger.

Lao 老 means old, experienced, veteran
Hu 虎 means brave, vigorous, look ferocious

Together Laohu means tiger!

Wild Tigers

With 2010 being the Year of the Tiger, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) is focusing on the Tiger. There are estimated to be fewer than 3,200 tigers left in the wild. The WWF is trying to raise awareness and double the number of wild tigers by 2022, the next year of the tiger. Click here to read more about the WWF effort.

Harbin's second most famous attraction, after the Snow and Ice World, is probably the Siberian Tiger Park. The Tiger Park is home to numerous Siberian tigers, but they are all in captivity. We haven't yet visited the park, but are planning to when our guests arrive in mid-March. I bet it's amazing to see the tigers, even in cages, and could only imagine how they'd look in the wild.

I hope I don't find that out, I'd hate to meet a tiger in the wild!

This is Albert's Story

On our way to Thailand, we had a two day stopover in Beijing. We decided to check out IKEA to shop for our house trying to make the apartment more homey. We picked out two coffee table cubes, a huge Eiffel Tower picture, a lamp stand, and Fansta the $5 lamp shade, who we lovingly called Albert.

After checking out, we walked our cart over to the shipping desk to inquire about shipping the items back to Harbin. "Sure, no problem," they say and begin packing the boxes. Except there was a small problem. Albert was not allowed to be shipped!

We had to make a quick decision. Do we return Albert to IKEA or do we carry Albert along on our journey to Thailand? We knew the risks. If we returned Albert, we were unlikely to find a suitable lamp shade in Harbin (we can't even find a table lamp in Harbin, we only find desk lamps). If we take Albert along on the journey, he'll have to clear customs (twice) and numerous security check points (3 times in Bangkok alone). We decided to take the risk and bring him along.

Since we didn't take any pictures of Albert in Thailand (we were too busy chasing kids and taking their pictures when we remembered) here's what might have been:

During conference, we hosted a party for Albert celebrating the halfway point of his journey.


When we got tired of being in the city, we took Albert along for a moped ride around the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai. It was a bit hard to tie him to the back with causing any dents, but he turned out OK.


At the top of the mountain, we watched as the locals danced the evening away. He wanted to join with the locals, but he was too monochromatic.


After the days off for Sabbath, we came together again and sang some songs.


On our not-quite-daily trips to Starbucks to drink some refreshing coffee, Albert always wanted to order his own drink, but we insisted that he wasn't quite old enough yet and we didn't want to get coffee on his beautiful white.


In the end, Albert made it back to Harbin safely without any dent and is currently filling our living room with his warm glow.

One Foreigner Among Many Locals

We’re back in Harbin and we’re hungry! Since I’m willing to brave the cold and not afraid try my Chinese, I ventured out to find some food. I went to our favorite Chinese restaurant (aka “Street Guy”) and ordered our favorite dishes.

As I sat down to wait, I crossed my legs and immediately the conversation began:

Mr. Blue Jacket: Those are some big shoes!

Me: Yes, they’re big.

Mr. Blue: What size are they? 45? (he used the European shoe size measurements)

Me: No, 48.

Mr. Blue: Wow! You didn’t buy those shoe here did you?

Me: No, I bought them in America.

Mr. Blue: (laughing) Look at his jacket, it is huge and goes all the way down to his knees.

Me: (smiling)

Mr. Blue: How old are you?

Me: Me? I’m 29 years old.

I was a bit shocked at the final question. I think that’s the first time I’ve been asked for my age. I’ve been asked the age of my children, but never my own age. The conversation continued as we talked about more routine questions (where are you from, what do you do, etc.). Mr. Blue left with his food and the next costumer came over to my table, pulled up a chair, and began to talk.

Mr. Black: (pulling the headphones off his ears) Do you like music? Pop? Rock? Hip-hop?

Me: I like rock.

Mr. Black: Do you like black metal?

Me: Black metal?

Mr. Black pulled out his MP3 player and gave me his headphones to listen to his black metal music.

Me: I like rock.

Welcome back to Harbin! I forgot just how interesting I am as a foreigner among the locals. Then I remembered that we are all foreigners belonging to our Father and we are interesting to the locals (non-believers). What a great way to shine the Father’s light!

Chinese New Year's Dos and Don'ts

Chinese New Year brings many traditions with it's celebration. Most noticeably the abundance of fireworks, lanterns, red gift envelopes, and stuffed tigers. While I've always seen these around China leading up to Chinese New Year, I never understood the tradition behind these actions.

The older generation may have strictly followed each of these traditions, but the new generations follow the traditions out of respect for their parents ("I don't know why, we've just always done it with my parents/grandparents.") Most importantly, each of these traditions is to bring luck to families during the coming year.

Here's some excerpts from China Daily that explain the traditions in more detail:

WHY FIREWORK, LANTERNS AND COUPLETS?¹

Most people stay up late on the eve of the Chinese New Year, watching TV, enjoying snacks and chatting with their family. Even if they don't, they are woken up by the loud bangs of firework at midnight -- if the sporadic firework sessions before 12 a.m. are not loud enough to stir the sound sleepers.

As a legend goes, Chinese ancestors were haunted by a monster named "nian" (meaning year) that left its mountain dwelling for human communities amid food shortages in winter to prey on men and cattle.

In the long run, people found out the monster was afraid of flames, bangs and red color. So they worked out firecrackers and lanterns to scare it away.

No one in China still believes such a monster actually existed, but the legend and customs have survived.

Today, Chinese families still hang up red lanterns and put up red couplets with rhymed phrases at their door, light fireworks and stay up late to watch the old year out.

NEW YEAR'S FOOD

In northern China, dumpling is an indispensable dish on the New Year dinner table.

Experts say the snack was already popular in the Three Kingdoms period (220 - 280). Many Chinese believe that to eat dumplings at the turn of the year will bring good luck, because the food resembles "yuan bao", a boat-shaped gold ingot that served for many years in history as China's currency.

Vegetables, meat, fish and shrimps can all make dumpling fillings. But some families put something special -- from nuts and dates to coins -- in just one of the dumplings. He who happens to eat this special dumpling is considered the luckiest person in the new year.

In southern China, where people prefer rice to wheat, families eat glutinous rice cakes instead of dumplings for the new year. These cakes, whose Chinese name "nian gao" (higher year-on-year), are also symbols of a prosperous new year.

Leek, whose Chinese name sounds like "a permanent vegetable", and fish, which sounds like "surplus" or "abundance", are also among the most common dishes on the new year dinner table.

RED WRAPPINGS

Children enjoy the holiday more than anyone else, largely because they get red wrappings of pocket money from their parents, grandparents and other relatives.

Experts say the custom, at least 1,800 years old, conveys new year greetings and aims to protect youngsters from ill luck.

In Chinese cities, the sum in each wrapping can range from 100 up to several thousand, but has to be an even number.

It can be given in exchange of a child's new year greetings, or be stuck under the child's pillow later during the night.

NO HAIRCUT

Many Chinese has the superstitious belief that if a person has a haircut during the first month of the lunar year, his maternal uncle will die.

As a result, barbershops open almost 18 hours a day in the pre-holiday rush for haircuts that lasts for at least two weeks until the New Year's eve.

While women like to spruce up for the holiday, even men with short hair like to take an extra haircut before the new year lest their hair will grow too long before their next haircut, scheduled on the second day of the second lunar month.

A Chinese legend goes that a poor barber loved his uncle dearly but could not afford a decent new year gift for him. So he gave his uncle a nice haircut that made the old man look many years younger. His uncle said it was the best gift he had ever had and wished to get a haircut every year.

After his uncle died, the barber missed him very much and cried every new year. Over the years, his "thinking of his uncle" (si jiu) was interpreted as "death of uncle" because in Chinese, their pronunciations are almost the same.
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¹ Dos and Don'ts for the Chinese Lunar New Year, Xinhua, China Daily Feb. 12, 2010.

Year of the Tiger

Happy Chinese New Year! Spring Festival! Family Day! Fireworks Day! Whatever you call it, have a happy one! February 14, 2010 is Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, marking the beginning of the Year of the Tiger.

The fireworks began yesterday morning with black cats (think more like a super sized black cat, probably illegal in all American states) as early as 7:30 AM. And not just one or two black cats at a time, but rolls of blacks cats up to 15 feet! Even some were shooting off aerial fireworks early in the morning and throughout the afternoon. I still can't figure out why the aerial fireworks weren't saved for the night. Maybe they had a stockpile of fireworks and the only way to shoot them all off is to shoot them during the day too.

Anyhow, the real fireworks show began a little later in the evening, about 10:30 PM. Soon after the CCTV Chinese New Year Gala TV Special was over everyone went outside to blast away. We've become quite immune to all the fireworks and have some video from a couple of years ago if you'd like to see some. (After a while the video begins to look like a continuous loop.)

Kanyon is not as immune to the fireworks. At first he was scared, but he quickly changed his mind. By the end of the night, he was saying, "More fireworks" and "Fireworks, boom, boom, boom!"

Here wishing you all a great Chinese New Year. And to all of you born in the Year of the Tiger, have an extra special year.

A Good China Day

I accomplished all 4 errands I set out to do yesterday. While this doesn’t sound like a big deal to those living in the States, it’s a big deal in China. When we lived in the States, I could easily jump in my car and drive around town all morning running errands (go to the post office, hardware store, check my mobile phone account, buy groceries, etc.), but it’s more difficult in China. Why? I really don’t know.

So yesterday I set out for a morning of errands not knowing how successful the trip would be given we are approaching Chinese New Year and many businesses may or may not be open. First, I checked the local ma and pa hardware store looking for some long extension cords. And I found exactly what I needed! Success #1!

Next stop on the agenda, buy lunch. Now just last month I went out to get lunch and unexpectedly our favorite restaurant was closed, no reason given (the next day they were open, so who knows). This time, even so close to the holiday, the restaurant was open. Success #2!

Third, I stopped by the Harbin Bank to see about getting a debit card for the city buses. (Note: I had been to the bank twice before and on both occasions the debit card teller informed me she was unable to issue the cards because her computer system was down.) This time was different. I waited 5 minutes for the teller to finish lunch, and then was issued my very own bus card. I feel like such a native Harbiner now! Success #3!

Finally, I crossed the street to the Bank of China to hopefully withdraw money from my account. (Note: I had been to the bank the previous day only to find that no money had been deposited into our account just yet.) Today was a good day, the money was deposited. Success #4!

What a day! All errands were accomplished without requiring a second, or third, or fourth trip!

Bangkok Airport Marathon

We survived the Bangkok airport without pulling out all of our hair. I don’t know how there’s any hair left after the craziness that’s the Bangkok airport.

We arrived at 10:45 PM off our connecting flight from Chiang Mai ready to continue the travels home to Harbin. Immediately off the airplane, we climb down some stairs. For some reason the gate we pulled up to was not open so we had to wait for a bus to take us to another terminal. As a family, we waited what seemed like forever for our stroller as the other travelers boarded bus after bus. We boarded the final bus and headed off to the new terminal.

At the new terminal, we were ushered up some escalators and asked to join the end of a long line at the security check. We managed to wait about 30 minutes and unpacked the stroller, kids, laptop, and feed them through the x-ray machines. Now we were home free, or not.

We followed the signs through the mostly empty terminal (it is 11:30 PM by this time). We walked 400 meters and came to another security check point. Again we waited, as our temperatures boiled trying to convince ourselves this was somehow not the craziest thing ever. (In Chiang Mai, we had already gone through security twice, so this makes time #4.) We did make it through with all our things and were off to find our gate for our transfer flight.

The gate was close to a kilometer from where the journey began. At the gate, we meet our friends also traveling to Harbin. We determine that none of us has yet received a boarding pass for the next flight. I check at the gate. “You must go back the way you came and get a boarding pass. We can’t issue one here.” At least I could get the boarding passes for my family without having to drag two crying kids along on the journey back.

I walk back and find the transfer desk to issue a new boarding pass and try to find my way back to my family. Guess what, I have to go through ANOTHER security check point. THAT MARKS THE FIFTH TIME! (But this time it was without the kids or all my stuff making security easier. I still had to take off my belt again though)

What a mess! Five check points and I’d only been on 1 airplane at the time without leaving the airport once. I don’t recommend the Bangkok airport to anyone. But the Thai people are quite nice. They checked us in and issued us the bulk head row for each flight so we gained some extra leg room and a baby bassinet.

Volume 4, Issue 2

Thank you for your thoughts over the past month. We have experienced tremendous answers to each of your petitions. We received Corbin’s passport in time to attend our company’s annual conference in Thailand where we were blessed and encouraged by so many co-laborers teaching throughout Southeast Asia.

We realize this job is not done alone, but with the partnering of so many great warriors lifting up the Father’s work throughout the world. Many thanks for being one of our warriors!

Country Becomes City

We come from small country towns of 413 people. Somebody had to. But somewhere along the way, we’ve grown to love the city. We discovered this fact while staying in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

When did this transition happen? Was it during the 5 years of in a college town (population 200,000), or our first year living in Nanchang, China (population 3+ million), or our time back in the states in a city (population 100,000, which is actually a town or village by China standards), or possibly during our second stint in China living in Harbin (population 6+ million). We’re not sure, but we know that while we sit today surrounded by buzzing mopeds, taxis, cars, and abundant pedestrians as we casually drink Starbucks coffee.

It’s a good thing to like cities so much given that China is a country with 171 cities having a population greater than 1 million (for reference, the US has 9 of such cities). We feel right at home with our company’s new vision for reaching Chinese cities. We can’t believe we get to be a member in a family that loves the city.

While our love for the city may have grown over a number of years, the realization of this truth was discovered over a one night trek away from Chiang Mai. We traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand to attend the Annual Thailand Conference with other teachers from China, Mongolia, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The conference hotel is located downtown Chiang Mai next door to a Starbucks and around the corner from the night bazaar. So we grew quite accustom to heading out directly into the city.

On this one night trek outside the city, we stayed at The Juniper Tree, a getaway for expat workers throughout Southeast Asia. We hauled our bags across town and out of town (really just a 10 minute bike right back into town, but far enough away). Upon arrival, we were greeted by friendly staff and toured around the facilities. We saw the swimming pool, kids playgrounds (the good metal kind of my childhood), dining hall, and huge yard for football. Then we found our cabin (or tree house because it was on stilts) and took our bags up the steps into our room.

We had lunch, swam some, had dinner, and then headed to our room. The room was just a room, albeit a bit short on the ceilings, especially in the bathroom. And the bed was a bit short for someone 2 meters tall. As we lay awake on our bed that night, we discussed what we thought we should do. Do we move back into the city or tough it out here in the jungle? We made some phone calls checking the rates of the city hotels and decided to get some sleep.

The next morning, we awoke, ate our breakfast, and chewed on our decision some more. We were really torn between the huge yard for Kanyon to play and our love for the city atmosphere. In the end, the city atmosphere drew us back and we packed up our bags and moved back into the same hotel we left the day before.

Now as we plan our next trip to Thailand (it’s a year away and M’Lynn is at the computer now checking out monthly rates for hotels in Chiang Mai) you know for sure where to find us, we'll be in the city!